Jakarta , Indonesia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A local court has set free a teenage boy after finding him guilty of stealing a policeman 's sandals in a case that caused furor among Indonesians frustrated with perceived injustices against the poor and defenseless .

The 15-year-old could have spent five years in jail for the alleged offense . He is accused of stealing the sandals from a boarding house where the cop was staying in November 2010 but was brought to trial only last month .

Indonesia 's Child Protection Commission decried the verdict on Wednesday , noting that the sandals presented as evidence in the court did not belong to the policeman , a fact he affirmed in court .

The Commission 's secretary , Muhammad Ihsan , said in a statement to CNN , `` This verdict is controversial and it hurts people 's hearts . The court could not prove it , but they still gave him a guilty verdict . To be on the safe side , the boy was returned to his parents . But the verdict will be a life-long scar on the boy because he will always be considered a sandal thief .

`` The judge took a safe stand between pressure between two sides , pressure from the police and prosecutor , and pressure from the public and the media . This is a country with a thousand faces , '' the commission said .

To protest the charges against the boy , a campaign to gather a thousand flip-flops began on December 28 . Students , teachers , construction workers , public transport drivers and lawyers among others dropped off pairs of sandals at centers set up around the country .

`` Two high school students came here , took off the sandals they were wearing and walked home barefoot , '' said Budhi Kurniawan , of the non-governmental organization SOS Children 's Villages and who helped start the campaign after hearing about the case .

`` We came up with the idea of a thousand sandals which we see as being the symbol of resistance also as compensation for the sandals that was allegedly stolen , '' Kurniawan said .

The sandals were intended for the policeman who lost his pair `` so he does n't have to buy another pair for the rest of his life , '' Kurniawan added .

The response was overwhelming . About 1,300 pairs of used and brand new sandals were collected , as calls to donate spread through BlackBerry Messenger , Facebook and Twitter .

Organizers had earlier said the campaign would end only when the boy was acquitted .

To express disappointment over the verdict , the sandals would be given to different government institutions instead , Kurniawan said on Thursday -- namely the national police , the attorney general 's office , the Supreme Court , the Justice and Human Rights Ministry and juvenile detention centers .

The boy 's parents are also considering an appeal , he added .

Before Wednesday 's verdict , national police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar told CNN it had been the boy 's parents who wanted to bring the case to trial . `` In this situation , the advice from the police was for the parents to give their son more attention and guidance , but this was n't accepted by the parents , and they wanted the legal action to be taken . ''

The Child Protection Commission , however , said the parents had filed a complaint with the Palu police after the alleged victim , 1st Brig. Ahmad Rusdi Harahap , and another colleague interrogated the boy . The parents allege the policemen beat up the boy and forced him to admit to the theft . The parents , according to the commission , wanted a case filed against those policemen .

Both were given disciplinary action , said Rafli , the national police spokesman .

According to Ihsan of the Commission , the police should have prioritized intervention and rehabilitation since the alleged offender is a minor .

There have been numerous cases of minors brought to court over petty crimes . Last year a 12 year-old-boy was tried and later acquitted for allegedly stealing loudspeakers from a mosque in West Java . Another 14-year-old was detained and charged for allegedly stealing a cell phone top up card worth $ 1.50 .

According to the Commission , in 2011 alone , 6,273 minors were reported to be serving time in jail , some of them in adult prisons .

The goal is to get all juveniles out of prison and change the laws governing minor offenders , Ihsan said .

A bill on the protection of children 's rights is under deliberation and expected to pass this year in parliament .

`` The commission is pushing to abolish juvenile punishment in Indonesia . We hope it will be included in the bill . It means that first the child needs to be returned to their parents for guidance , then given training and education , and the harshest would be rehabilitation with the right intervention . We 're not asking that more juvenile facilities be built . We do n't want minors in jail , '' Ihsan explained .

This also is not the first time Indonesians have rallied around a victim of perceived injustice . Public pressure from a similar campaign in 2009 , `` Coins for Prita , '' helped a housewife escape criminal liability for complaining in a private e-mail about a hospital 's service .

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Indonesia 's Child Protection Commission decries verdict Wednesday

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Commission notes that sandals presented in court were not policeman 's

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Campaign kicked off last month to donate sandals in protest

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They were meant for policeman who accused boy of theft